A support, awareness and mentoring group created for type 1 diabetics from kindergarten to 12th grade and their families.
The goal of the group has three parts: for the community at large to understand more about type 1 diabetes, for kindergarten to 12th grade type 1 diabetics to; get to know, help and enjoy one another through local events and mentoring and finally, that the families of these type 1 diabetics will also recieve support from local professionals and one another.

Fun Things to do:

Check out our web page created by 12 year old Caid the same type 1 that gave us our name, she is an inspiration. Just click on the 'Web Page' link in the blue bar above.

What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Diabetes (medically known as diabetes mellitus) is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system -- that is, its system for protecting itself from viruses, bacteria or any "foreign" substances. A third form of diabetes called monogenic diabetes, is sometimes mistaken for type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certian cells in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. These cells -- called beta cells -- are contained, along with other types of cells, within small islands of endocrine cells called the pancreatic islets. Beta cells normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body.

For this reason, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive. This means undergoing multiple injections daily, or having insulin delivered through an insulin pump, and testing their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. People with diabetes must also carefully balance their food intake and their exercise to regulate their blood sugar levels, in an attempt to avoid hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hypergylcemic (high blood sugar) reactions, whick can be life threatening.